Selecting Objects - MACROMEDIA FLASH MX 2004-USING FLASH Use Manual

Selecting objects

To modify an object, you must first select it. Flash provides a variety of methods for making
selections, including the Selection tool, the Lasso tool, and keyboard commands. You can group
individual objects to manipulate them as a single object. See
Flash highlights objects and strokes that have been selected with a dot pattern. Selected groups are
highlighted with bounding boxes in the color used for the outline of the layer that contains the
selected group. You can change the layer outline color in the Layer Properties dialog box. See
"Using layers" in Getting Started with Flash.
You can choose to select only an object's strokes or only its fills. You can hide selection
highlighting in order to edit objects without viewing highlighting.
When you select an object, the Property inspector displays the object's stroke and fill, its pixel
dimensions, and the x and y coordinates of the object's transformation point.
If you select multiple items of different types on the Stage, such as an object, a button, and a
movie clip, the Property inspector indicates a mixed selection. The Property inspector for a mixed
selection displays the pixel dimensions and x and y coordinates of the selected set of items.
You can use the Property inspector for a shape to change the object's stroke and fill. See
Chapter 4, "Working with Color," on page
You might want to prevent a group or symbol from being selected and accidentally changed. To
do this, you can lock the group or symbol. See
Selecting objects with the Selection tool
The Selection tool lets you select entire objects by clicking an object or dragging to enclose the
object within a rectangular selection marquee.
Note: To select the Selection tool, you can also press the V key. To temporarily switch to the
Selection tool when another tool is active, hold down the Control key (Windows) or Command
key (Macintosh).
To select a stroke, fill, group, instance, or text block:
•
Select the Selection tool and click the object.
To select connected lines:
•
Select the Selection tool and double-click one of the lines.
To select a filled shape and its stroked outline:
•
Select the Selection tool and double-click the fill.
To select objects within a rectangular area:
•
Select the Selection tool and drag a marquee around the object or objects that you want to
select. Instances, groups, and type blocks must be completely enclosed to be selected.
144 Chapter 8: Working with Graphic Objects
"Grouping objects" on page
75.
"Modifying selections" on page
146.
145.